UNIT III

BIO ENERGY
PART A
1. What is the difference between biomass and biogas?
Biomass is the amount of living matter in a given habitat, expressed either as the weight
of organisms per unit area or as the volume of organisms per unit volume of habitat. Biogas
is any gas fuel derived from the decay of organic matter, as the mixture of methane and
carbon dioxide produced by the bacterial decomposition of sewage, manure, garbage, or
plant crops.
2. What is Pyrolysis ?
Pyrolysis is a thermo chemical decomposition of organic material at elevated
temperatures in the absence of oxygen (or any halogen). It involves the simultaneous change
of chemical composition and physical phase, and is irreversible. The word is coined from the
Greek-derived elements pyro "fire" and lysis "separating".
3. State the types of Gasifiers.

Updraught or counter current gasifier

Downdraught or co-current gasifiers3
Cross-draught gasifier
Fluidized bed gasifier

4. Name any five models of biogas plant.

A total of seven different types of biogas plant have been officially recognized by the
MNES.

The floating-drum plant with a cylindrical digester (KVIC model),

The fixed-dome plant with a brick reinforced, moulded dome (Janata model)

The floating-drum plant with a hemisphere digester (Pragati model)

The fixed-dome plant with a hemisphere digester (Deenbandhu model)

The floating-drum plant made of angular steel and plastic foil (Ganesh model)

5. Define Gasification.
Gasification is a process that converts organic or fossil fuel based carbonaceous materials
into carbon monoxide, hydrogen and carbon dioxide. This is achieved by reacting the
material at high temperatures (>700 C), without combustion, with a controlled amount of
oxygen and/or steam
.
6. Define Fermentation.
Fermentation is a metabolic process that converts sugar to acids, gases or alcohol. It
occurs in yeast and bacteria, but also in oxygen-starved muscle cells, as in the case of lactic
acid fermentation. Fermentation is also used more broadly to refer to the bulk growth of
microorganisms on a growth medium, often with the goal of producing a specific chemical
product.
7. Give any five Biomass resources.
Woody source of biomass (Lignocelluloses) such as:Forest residues, Landscaping
residues, Energy wood plantations, Residues from food, Industrial wood residue, Waste wood
residues
Non Woody biomass (Oil, sugar, starch) such as: Energy plants from agriculture, Straw
and other harvesting residues from agriculture, Residues from food industry, Landscaping
residues(grass etc.)
Animal/Men(Fats/Proteins), Farm slurry /excrements, Slaughter waste, Organic waste
from households and industry
8. Define Liquefaction.
Liquefaction is a term used in materials sciences to refer to any process which either
generates a liquid from a solid or a gas or generates a non-liquid phase which behaves in
accordance with fluid dynamics.
9. State any five factors affecting the Biogas generation.
Sub layer composition;
Temperature inside the digester;
Retention time;
Working pressure of the digester;
Fermentation medium pH.

10. What is an Anaerobic digestion?

Anaerobic digestion is a series of biological processes in which microorganisms
break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. One of the end products is
biogas, which is combusted to generate electricity and heat, or can be processed into
renewable natural gas and transportation fuels.

11. Define Hydrolysis.

A chemical reaction in which the interaction of a compound with water results in the
decomposition of that compound.

12. State the types if alternative liquid fuels.

biodiesel, bioalcohol (methanol, ethanol, butanol), chemically stored
electricity (batteries and fuel cells), hydrogen, non-fossil methane, non-fossil
natural gas, vegetable oil, propane, and other biomass sources.

13. What is meant by energy plantation?

Eenergy plantation means growing select species of trees and shrubs
which are harvestable in a comparably shorter time and are specifically
meant for fuel. The fuel wood may be used either directly in wood burning
stoves and boilers or processed into methanol, ethanol and producer gas
.

14. Give a list of the materials used for biogas generation from agricultural
wastes
sugar cane, cassava, corn etc, agricultural residues like rice straw, cassava
rhizome, corn cobs.

15. Differentiate Wet fermentation and Dry fermentations